Good morning, FXBG.
Happy Halloween. It's a Saturday, it'll be sunny and crisp, and tonight is the last time the sun sets after 6 p.m. until late February. Before you get to the candy, there's news from this week's meetings. Spotsylvania dropped its $50 dump pass and is looking at your car fee instead, and Stafford supervisors argued so hard about an audit that one of them walked out.
In today's Rundown:
Spotsy drops the $50 dump pass and wants a bigger car fee instead
Stafford's audit argument ends with a supervisor walking out
Your Halloween last-chance list, plus what time it gets dark
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🗑️ Spotsy drops the $50 dump pass and looks at your car fee instead
On Friday we said nobody had reported what happened to Spotsylvania's $50 dump pass. Now we know. The board rejected it.
At Tuesday's meeting, supervisors decided not to require a $50 yearly hangtag for the county landfill and its 13 convenience centers. The current system stays: free windshield decals, up to two per household. According to the Free Press and The Free Lance-Star, the county wants to make up the money another way, by raising the local vehicle license fee:
Cars: from $25 to $35 a year
Motorcycles: from $15 to $21 a year
Why the county needs the money: The 2027 budget already assumed about $1.4 million a year from the permit, plus savings from refuse-program changes. If supervisors dropped the permit without replacing it, the budget would be short by about that much. The car fee has been $25 since 2004, the Free Lance-Star reports.
What this means for you: If you have two cars, you'd pay $70 a year instead of $50. It shows up on your first-half tax bill, not at the dump. Nothing changes yet. The increase still needs a public hearing, and no date has been set. Some changes have already happened, though. Convenience centers now close two days a week and no longer take construction and demolition debris. The county expects those two changes to save about $650,000 a year combined.
Also from that meeting: the county's wish list for Richmond. Supervisors went through 26 requests for the General Assembly. Newest member Tim McLaughlin asked whether the state has paid any attention to the list "in the last 15 years." (Deputy County Administrator Mark Cole, a former delegate, said "It's rare. But it does happen.") Each supervisor named top priorities:
Chair Lori Hayes wants vape products added to the local tobacco tax. She also wants standing in traffic made a primary offense, because of panhandling in medians. "You wave a dollar and they're going everywhere," she said.
Deborah Frazier picked school funding and teacher pay.
Jacob Lane wants more money for rural roads.
Chris Yakabouski wants a shorter early voting period than the current 45 days. He's on Tuesday's ballot for commissioner of the revenue, and he says campaigning outside the early voting site gave him firsthand experience and a "farmer tan."
The Free Press story → https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2026/10/29/spotsylvania-board-of-supervisors-sets-legislative-agenda/
The Free Lance-Star (may be paywalled) → https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/article_a14d719b-b854-4d8b-a0de-2651f0e93875.html
Current vehicle fees → https://www.spotsylvania.va.us/418/Local-Vehicle-License-Fees-for-Vehicles
🧾 Stafford's audit fight ends with a walkout
Stafford supervisors spent part of Tuesday's work session arguing about whether to audit the county government. By the end, one of them had left the room.
How it started: Rock Hill Supervisor Crystal Vanuch came in expecting three of her items on the agenda. One was a sweeping review of county finances. The other two were about data centers: making them ineligible for some economic development incentives, and ending the rule that lets them be built in some areas without a specific board vote. None of the three was on the agenda. "Every single thing I have requested, per our bylaws… is not on today's agenda," she said, according to the Free Press.
The audit question: Vanuch and Hartwood's Darrell English originally called it a "forensic" audit. County Administrator Bill Ashton said that kind of audit is normally done only when someone suspects financial misconduct. After the term came up at an earlier meeting, he said, the first employee he saw the next morning asked him, "Does the board think we're a bunch of crooks?" Vanuch said she isn't accusing anyone. She wants to look for waste and inefficiency, and she'd like the schools and the constitutional officers' departments to take part voluntarily. English said residents asked for an audit: "People are mad because we keep raising taxes."
The pushback: Chairman Deuntay Diggs said the two hadn't shared their plan with the rest of the board. Several supervisors worried the review could cost millions. Griffis-Widewater's Tinesha Allen asked what they'd do if the audit found the real problem was tax-relief programs: "Are you guys going to sit there and still say you don't need to raise taxes?" English then got up and left the meeting. On his way out he said, "Don't do the audit. Don't."
What's next: The board will talk about the audit at a special meeting on Nov. 17. The two data center items are on the regular meeting that same day. Nobody knows yet what the review would cover or what it would cost, or even whether it'll end up being called an audit. If you care about your Stafford tax bill, put Nov. 17 on your calendar. (The next day, Nov. 18, the Planning Commission takes up four data center projects. It's a busy month in Stafford.)
The Free Press story → https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2026/10/29/talk-of-auditing-stafford-government-turns-raucous/
🎃 Your Halloween last-chance list
You've already got the costume stroll, Treats on the Streets, the trunk-or-treats and the grown-up parties from earlier this week. This list is the stuff that ends this weekend, plus when it gets dark.
The forecast: As of early Friday, the National Weather Service expects a mostly sunny Saturday with a high near 63. Tonight turns mostly cloudy and drops to about 44, with calm wind. Sunday is partly sunny, with a high near 66. NWS forecast
When it gets dark: Sunset in Fredericksburg is about 6:11 p.m., and it's fully dark around 6:40, by our calculation. We couldn't find official trick-or-treat hours from the city or the counties, so go by the usual rule: if the porch light is on, knock. Give kids a flashlight or something reflective. Drivers, roll slowly through neighborhoods from dinnertime on, because a kid in a ninja costume is hard to see at 6:45.
Saturday is the last day for these:
Scarecrow Fest voting. The scarecrows along Caroline Street are judged in four categories: Business, Funniest, Historic and Spookiest. You can vote online once a day, and today's your last chance. Vote here
Duck & Seek. Thirteen rubber ducks are hiding in shop windows on the 600 to 900 blocks of Caroline Street. Pick up a hunt sheet at the Visitor Center, 601 Caroline St. (open 9 a.m.–4 p.m.), find all 13 and bring the sheet back for a prize. It works well after the costume stroll. Details
Belvedere Plantation in Spotsylvania closes early on Halloween, at 6 p.m. instead of 10, according to the FXBG Neighbors guide. The harvest festival runs through Nov. 7 and ends with pumpkin smashing. Check the farm's site before you go.
Tonight, for grown-ups who aren't done yet: Happy Endings on Princess Anne Street is celebrating its 20th anniversary with "Roswell 1947," an alien-themed Halloween weekend. Tonight is the Best Couples Costume Contest, and the prize is $500 cash. Both of you have to be there to sign up. Judging is at 10:30 p.m. The bar's own posts give two different sign-up times (8:30 and 9 p.m.), so go early. And yes, a tinfoil hat counts as half a costume.
📍 When / where / cost: Sat., Oct. 31 · judging 10:30 p.m. · 1315 Princess Anne St. · Cost and sign-up details: happysfxbg.com
Sunday is the last day for these:
Snead's Farm Fall Festival in Caroline ends its season. Admission covers hayrides, the corn maze, slides, the farm animals and the pumpkin patch. Pumpkins cost extra. Tickets are gate-only, and the last entry is 4:45 p.m. Remember the clocks go back overnight, so 4:45 Sunday comes after that free hour of sleep.
The Upcycled Ghost Art Show at the Visitor Center closes. Local artists of all ages took thrift-store paintings and added ghosts to them. It's free, and you can vote for your favorites from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
📍 When / where / cost: Sun., Nov. 1 · Snead's: 18294 Tidewater Trail, 9 a.m.–6 p.m., $20 weekends (2 and under free) · Ghost Art Show: 601 Caroline St., 9 a.m.–4 p.m., free
Full regional list (FXBG Neighbors) → https://www.fxbgneighborsconnect.com/p/fredericksburg-halloween-events
Also worth knowing…
🗳️ Today is the last day to vote early. The state confirms early in-person voting ends at 5 p.m. today, Oct. 31. There's no early voting Sunday or Monday. After today, you vote at your assigned polling place on Tue., Nov. 3, 6 a.m.–7 p.m. Spotsy voters, remember early voting is at the new office, 4810 Southpoint Pkwy. Virginia Dept. of Elections · Find your polling place
⚡ Dominion customers, an electric bill change is coming. Virginia rejoined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative this year, and Dominion has asked state regulators to let it charge customers for the carbon allowances it has to buy. The average home would pay about $13 more a month, or about $10 if the costs are spread over two years. The charge wouldn't start before March 2027. A bill credit lawmakers approved in the state budget is expected to cover almost all of it, but the details aren't settled yet. Regulators have until Feb. 5 to decide. (Much of Stafford, Spotsy and Caroline gets power from Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, not Dominion, so check whose name is on your bill.) Virginia Mercury
🍂 City leaf collection starts Monday, Nov. 2. Crews start in Section 1 and work through Section 24, then make a second pass. Have your leaves at the curb by 7 a.m. on your section's first day. Piles with sticks or branches won't be picked up. The schedule is updated every Friday. Leaf schedule
🚦 Drive Route 1 at Layhill Road? VDOT is proposing a $14.3 million redesign of the Stafford intersection, which carries about 25,000 vehicles a day. The plan adds turn lanes, a raised median, a new connector road behind the Valero, and sidewalks and a shared-use path. You can comment online through Sat., Nov. 7. Construction wouldn't go out to bid until 2029. VDOT
⚖️ The amendment fight may continue after Tuesday. If voters approve the reproductive rights amendment, a Tazewell County judge will hear a challenge on Nov. 13. The group bringing it wants to block certification of the result, and it argues the amendment wasn't put on the ballot properly. Virginia Mercury
🦃 Stafford county offices get a longer Thanksgiving. Supervisors voted 5-2 to give county employees the whole day off on Wednesday, Nov. 25, instead of a half day. If you have county business to take care of, do it Tuesday. Potomac Local
🤝 An easy way to help: Fredericksburg-area nurse practitioners are collecting underwear and menstrual products for survivors of sexual violence and for women and children experiencing homelessness. They're also taking bras. Drop off donations through Nov. 17 at Ferry Farm Health and Wellness, 207 Kings Hwy., Suite 103. Hours are 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Friday, and it's closed weekends. Last year the drive collected more than 1,400 menstrual products. Free Lance-Star
Gee whiz: the last 6 p.m. sunset until late February
Tonight's sunset at about 6:11 p.m. is the last one in Fredericksburg after 6 p.m. until around Feb. 27, by our calculation. The clocks change overnight, so Sunday's sunset is around 5:10. Sunsets keep getting earlier until about 4:49 p.m. in early December. Fun fact: the earliest sunset of the year comes about two weeks before the shortest day (Dec. 21), because of Earth's tilt and its oval-shaped orbit. So enjoy the daylight this evening. You won't see a 6 p.m. sunset again for about four months.
Before you go
Hit reply and tell us the best costume you see tonight. It could be your kid's, your neighbor's, or the one at the next table at Happy Endings. We'll share our favorites (no names) in a future issue. If you send a photo, tell us if it's okay to use it.
Know someone in Spotsy who's been wondering about the dump pass? Forward this to them. Short version: no hangtag, and a $10 bump on the car fee is probably coming.
Clocks go back tonight. Check the candy, then enjoy the extra hour. Happy Halloween, FXBG.
The FXBG Rundown
A little more local. A lot more interesting.